


The Fires of Nipton

by Well_Then



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25129339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Well_Then/pseuds/Well_Then
Summary: “I admire the purity of the Legion’s justice,” she said. For a moment she feared that the lie had sounded as false on her tongue as it had in her head, but then the man responded.“It has a stark beauty, doesn't it?” He said thoughtfully. “I'm glad you can appreciate it.”
Kudos: 8





	The Fires of Nipton

**Author's Note:**

> This is originally from my work-in-progress FNV fic 'Far From Home'. The fic is getting longer and longer and is likely to be undergoing some heavy editing in future, but I have a soft spot for these chapters, so I decided to make them a separate standalone, one-shot... thing.

_Head through Nipton to Novac,_ Beagle had told her.

The man annoyed her no end, from his cowardice at the Bison Steve to his whining once she’d reprogrammed Primm Slim; indeed, it had taken an awful lot of self restraint not to punch him at that point. But a tip-off was a tip-off, and despite his otherwise glaringly clear character flaws, Tommie didn’t consider Beagle to be the lying kind – well, at least not after he’d seen the mess that she had made in the Bison Steve.

A happy beeping made her look up from her Pip-Boy, which she had been using to double-check the route to Nipton.

“You alright, kidda?” She smiled at ED-E floating alongside her. ED-E chirruped again.

The Nashes hadn’t remembered her, which she’d expected – she’d only been working for the Mojave Express for a short while after all – but still Jonathan had told her that she could have his eyebot if she could get it to work. It had taken some effort, a pile of junk, and some frantic revision of repair techniques gleaned from an old magazine, but finally the bot had sprung into life.

It was going to be nice to have a companion again; someone to keep an eye out while she got some sleep was an exciting prospect all on its own. She felt a strange kinship with the machine, riddled with bullet holes, scratches and scars, just like she was, and the bumper stickers on his body reminded her of her pre-war life. ED-E made her smile. She just hoped the little bot could hold his own in a fight.

ED-E was able to prove his skill along the route; first against radscorpions, which he and Tommie dispatched with relative ease, and then against the jackals. ED-E drew their fire and shot his lasers as Tommie sniped off as many as she could with her varmint rifle before throwing herself into the fray, 9mm in hand. The two inside the rest stop proved to be little trouble, meanwhile ED-E dealt with most of the giant mantises in the building. 

When finally out of danger, Tommie stared glumly at the cell at the other end of the rest stop; it was filled with mantises.

“Well, at least it seems like they can’t get out...” She mumbled. An inquiring beep sounded behind her. “Nah, no point,” she replied (putting a great deal of faith in her ability to reckon at what the little eyebot was trying to say). “They’re stuck in there so they’re not a danger – taking them out would probably just be a waste of ammo.” She cast one more thoughtful glance over at the cell before adding: “Still, could you keep an eye on them while I ransack the place?”

ED-E sounded a confirmatory beep and indeed hovered in place, keeping watch, as Tommie gathered what she could from the draws and cabinets around the building.

“Right, sorted.” She told him as she closed a desk draw; ED-E flew over to her. Tommie cast one more almost mournful glance at the cell, specifically at the cot within.

 _Oh well_ , she reasoned. _Nipton should have some beds going._

The few times she’d made deliveries to the town she had found that she’d rather disliked it, the sleaze of the place almost seemed tangible, cloying. Tommie was no prude and held no judgements against the women that plied their trade, nor for the customers that came to them. But something about Nipton always set her teeth on edge.

 _But a town with an inn is a town with an inn_ , she thought. And putting up with a few creeps eyeing her up, and maybe a few glares from some of the working girls as they tried to gauge whether she’d be bad for business, was more than worth it for a good night's sleep in a real bed.

The thought of sleeping on a real mattress occupied most of her headspace for much of the walk, only allowing room for more urgent concerns if she thought she’d spotted an enemy nearby. She was so caught up in her daydream of a comfortable, undisturbed sleep that she barely even registered the plumes of smoke until she was almost at the town gate.

There was a man there, rushing around, yelling, whooping. On seeing his Powder Ganger uniform, Tommie instinctively raised her pistol – but he made no move to aggression against her, and so she lowered the gun and let him speak.

She frowned as she tried to make sense of his ramblings.

_He’s won a lottery? What the hell kind of lotteries still exist these days?_

And then she watched as he ran down the hill into what Tommie was pretty sure was radscorpion territory. A thought occurred to her.

“ED-E, I don’t think I saw a gun on him... Do you think he has one?” ED-E beeped; the beep sounded doubtful. Tommie shrugged and allowed herself one more slightly worried glance over at the 'lottery winner' before heading up and into the town.

* * *

The heat hit her as she walked through Nipton, the towering fires combined with the mid-afternoon sun made her feel as though she was cooking underneath the simple leather armour that Chet had given her in advance of the fight against Powder Gangers.

Tommie vaguely acknowledged that November 5th was fast approaching as she stared up at the flames. It was only when she turned the corner to walk up to the town hall, when she saw the crucifixes lining the road, that some small stunned part of her remembered that Americans didn’t celebrate bonfire night.

Instinctively, she drew her weapon. As she walked up the road and, away from the choking smoke, the smell of death finally hit her with full force. Her stomach turned, partly in revulsion but mainly in dread. The smoke, the stench, the fear... her head began to ache.

Finally, she tore her horrified gaze from the dying men on crosses and to the armoured men on the steps of the town hall. They seemed to be watching her with some interest.

 _Well,_ she thought, trying desperately to keep herself calm. _No one has started shooting yet..._ She drank in as much information as she could. Forcing herself to break through her fog of terror that had been clouding her mind, she now saw the flags properly, and saw the bull. _This was a Legion job..._ The crimson and black uniforms that those on the steps wore: _So these will be Legion soldiers, then._

Tommie had been lucky enough not to have had many dealings with the Legion; she had crossed through their lands before, but always as part of a caravan. The Legion kept the roads clean, clear of raiders. They didn’t bother the caravans, so they’d never bothered her. Though some of the stories that she had heard...

Her train of thought trailed off. There was movement ahead; many of the men were rushing ahead and fanning out, surrounding her. One man didn’t run, however, instead he strode purposefully towards her. Much of his face was covered by a dog's head helm and dark glasses, but Tommie noted his high cheekbones and thin mouth.

“Don’t worry. I won’t have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates,” he drawled. “It's useful that you happened by.” Tommie noticed that his thin lips seemed close to betraying a smile. “I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton,” he continued, “to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across.” He fell silent and seemed to be expecting her to say something.

Tommie was acutely aware of the men surrounding her, of the fact that they were all armed. She knew that legionaries were well trained, clean-living (of chems and alcohol, that is, _Some of the stories you hear..._ ). She was acutely aware of her 9mm, which suddenly felt a painfully flimsy option, and of her leather armour, which was getting dangerously close to falling apart. The headache was getting worse.

 _Fighting’s not an option_ , she noted. _Time to play nice._

She drew herself up to her full height, her head raised high. “And what lessons were these?” She asked politely, fighting to keep her voice level and light. “I want to make sure I get this right, of course.”

He was definitely smiling now.

“Of course,” he agreed. “As for the lessons... Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson.” He explained at length about why Nipton had been chosen – _‘a town of whores’_ he had called it – and did not hide his pride as he explained the lottery about which the Powder Ganger at the gate had been so excited. He explained how he and his men gave each person a ticket, about how no one had even lifted a finger to help those they’d claimed to love, just as long as there was a chance that they themselves would survive. Tommie felt her blood run cold at his words.

_You hear these stories..._

At the end of his explanation, he watched her again; Tommie realised that he was expecting her to speak. _He wants to gauge my reaction to his shit show..._ Her head was ringing now and she felt sick. _Don’t fuck this up_ , she thought to herself. She gave him a small smile – praying to whatever god might have been listening that it looked far more sincere than it felt – and replied.

“I admire the purity of the Legion’s justice,” she said. For a moment she feared that the lie had sounded as false on her tongue as it had in her head, but then the man responded.

“It has a stark beauty, doesn't it?” He said thoughtfully. “I'm glad you can appreciate it.” He paused for a moment; he seemed to be appraising her, but without being able to see his eyes Tommie couldn’t be sure. After what felt like an eternity, he continued. “Now go,” he told her, “and teach others what you learned here. The Mojave Outpost isn’t far from here; that will suffice.” He gestured to his men, who had been surrounding her; they ran back to him and followed as he began to walk away. After a few moments, the man turned back to her. “There will be more lessons in the days ahead,” he said, apparently as an afterthought. “Vale”.

Tommie watched them leave. She held her poise for as long as she could; when the men were finally far enough away for her to feel safe enough to do so, she let her shoulders drop. Her knees threatened to give way beneath her and she could feel bile rising in her throat.

ED-E beeped at her, concerned.

“I’m okay,” she croaked. “Fucking hell...” She looked up once more; the men were now completely gone from view. She sat herself down on the ground for a while, until she had stopped shaking and the pounding in her skull had subsided into a dull ache. Finally, when she felt strong enough, she let out a large sigh and took to her feet.

“Well,” she said, stretching a little. “It looks like we’re making a detour.”


End file.
